


A Sugary Evening

by TheGalaxianPersona



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Don't party with sugar, F/M, It does things to your brain, Really... REALLY weird things, Sugar is Bad for you kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2019-12-25 09:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18258659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGalaxianPersona/pseuds/TheGalaxianPersona
Summary: Partying with sugar can lead to weird things. Dumb and weird things.





	1. Prologue: [No. Not A Drunken One] Evening

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a huge multi-chapter fanfiction that may or may not include two ships in this whole messy ordeal.
> 
> The first pairing within our eyes is Lissa/Ricken.
> 
> And we'll see what kind of mess these two end up on.

Morning came around like a warm reminder to come up. The sun’s warm radiance shown through every corner of land it touches and passes through every open window it comes across. Usually, for another morning at Ylisse, it would be another productive day for the townsfolk, villagers and farmers. For the ones within the noble families, yet another day to enjoy the luxuries of being royalty,  actually use their royalty status for something good for their fellow citizens, or both; the option varies on who. And for certain couples, it is about time to come up from their slumber together and live on to their respective lives and come back when the evening comes around.

 

Of course, not everyone follows that specific generalization. Everyone’s morning may either be similar or different, and Ricken’s morning was quite a different one.

 

Surely, when it comes to the young mage in training, Ricken would always make sure that he would wake up every morning to come up and meet up with his mentor Miriel for another day of practicing magic and, if the remaining time allows it, experiment with whatever is left from Miriel’s mother's research notes.

  
However, this day was not the day he felt like going out of bed.

 

Ricken had a fun night with the rest of the young crew of the Shepherds. While the rest of the old and senile veterans like Chrom, Fredrick, and even Robyn (for whatever reason, the young ones would call her old just because.) have their time spent going about with serious business, the young members of the Shepherds casually have their go about with their usual activities together. Cards, charades, clam wars... (an idea that Nowi insisted) The young Shepherds have their time to have fun when there is no sudden feeling of urgency.

 

Last night though was quite a fun fest, but whoever was odd enough to keep the night alive with sugar must have wanted it to last. Whatever sugary treat or beverage they found, they consumed it to the very last piece and drop. The start of the party was quite the highest moment of the evening, and it started to die down to the point where everyone started to retreat to their own quarters.

 

Ricken felt the crash of a sugar rush in his body. Certainly he had no will to reprimand himself, since his body was already doing the job. Aches… Prominent lazy drowsiness… Shudders from last night’s sugar rush… gods… Ricken winced when the sunlight hit his eyes.

 

He eyed on the clock at the bedside table, and he sighed in exhausted relief. _Oh, thank goodness_ , he thought. The small arrowhead within a bottom segment of the clock pointed the current day, and it pointed at Sunday. _Sunday…_ He sighed. _No need to come up early…_

 

Looking away from the bedside clock, Ricken collapsed on the bed quickly and felt the warm of sleep come through his system. Even if he had his magus clothes on, he still felt comfy to sleep in. His eyes drooped to a slow close as he saw the sunrise through the window.

 

_Huh… Who would’ve thought the sun had blonde strands of hair..._

Ricken sighed the thought off and closed his eyes to a distant slumber.

 

…

 

Of course, within a few seconds, he opened his eyes in shock. His vision, clearer than before, depicted Lissa sleeping **underneath the sheets and right beside him.** Right now… At this very morning.

 

_What now…? Oh gods oh gods… I shouldn’t… what… how?!_

 

His mind was in utter shock as his body was paralyzed. He couldn’t move, but he could think, so he took the time to try and piece the whole thing without the fear of his body flailing out of the bed and panicking and waking Lissa in the process.

 

_Okay… come on… we were all partying and having fun like it’s crazy… the drinks were too sugary… Nowi tried to set the logs on fire…_

 

It was then he remembered how it led to this.

 

~~~~~~

 

The abandoned barracks was a good place to party, and everyone within the young group agreed to make it their own personal place. Even Lissa would come as far as telling Chrom of this room and making it their own, but it was not a time for her to tell her brother of her idea. It was a time to unwind from the campaign’s painful woes and into the party’s fun atmosphere.

 

It was then that the whole atmosphere started to die out overtime. From dancing and doing odd games that were energetic and appropriate for them, the party’s energy died out to playing cards on the table.

 

Certainly, Lissa won most of the games, but it’s not what is bringing the vibe of the party down.

 

An audible yawn came out of Donnel’s mouth, “Darn… The evening was fun and all… but I better hit the hay…”

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Donnel. The night was getting late, and everyone wanted to be at their beds.

 

Well everyone except Lissa.

 

“Come on… Just a little bit more? I swear. I will be sure to make you all win at the next hand of cards!” the self declared card master, Lissa, begged for her friends to stay with her.

 

“Lissa… Everyone has their limit on how long they can be up. Like me!” Nowi beamed a smile and stretched her arms out as she almost stumbled backwards from exhaustion.

 

“Besides, Lissa. You should be tired by now.” Maribelle checked her pocket watch and saw the time was primarily late enough for the sugar crash to come in.

 

“But I don’t feel tired… It’s so boring alone…” Lissa whined in frustration as she threw her head back from the chair she was sitting on. The glass of sweetened orange juice in her hand clunked against the table.

 

He did not know what happened on that hour, but perhaps it was the buzz of sugar that Ricken had the tenacity to say it within the crowd.

 

“I… I can keep you company, if you want me to.”

 

Donnel looked at his friend Ricken with a shocked glare. Nowi gasped to herself on Ricken’s newfound courage. Maribelle pursed her lips, impressed on his humble choice of words. Lissa paused and looked at Ricken through the crowd; her eyes wide open from surprise. Everyone was wondering if Ricken meant with every single word from his mouth. Mostly Donnel as he felt a drop of sweat come down on his forehead. He was concerned. Too concerned.

 

 _How on earth did Ricken get this sense of courage?_ Donnel thought, _Gotta know if he’s just doing this for real or not._

 

Before Ricken could even go closer, Donnel tapped his shoulder for his attention. “What is it?” whispered Ricken, but Donnel had his attention to Lissa.

 

“Mind if I borrow him for a bit? Just got something to talk about before leaving him to you.” Donnel asked Lissa.

 

Blinking from the sudden intrusion, Lissa nodded in approval. “Sure. Take your time, Donnel.”

 

~~~~

 

The night was cold but Ricken can feel the warmth rising to his face.

 

Ricken half expects to get punched in the face as Donnel glared at him with a threatening look that suggests it.

 

“Ricken?”, Donnel huffed,“Are you okay, or do you got cow dung stuck in your brain to say that stuff out loud?!”

 

 _His farmer’s accent really is showing tonight._ Ricken took note.

 

“Well… I…” Flustered for words, he looked at his friend, “It’s just… wrong to leave a girl hanging, I suppose.”

 

“So you’re sayin’ that you really choose to be with her tonight?” Donnel held the collar of his robes and shook him back and forth, hoping to shake off the insanity from him.

 

“Donnel, please! You and Nowi of all people should know by now that… I had enough of not doing anything…” Ricken’s hands gripped Donnel’s and pulled them out of his collar. “This is just… me, making a move.”

 

Nowi got out to look at her two oddball of friends, and one of them is strangling the other, or so how she sees it.

 

Leaning on by the wall, Nowi said, “Unless you two dorks want to headbutt each other with cooking pots on your head, Lissa is waiting for you, Ricken.”

 

Ricken breathed, “Well… Wish me luck?”

 

Donnel sighed at his friend’s… Unusual courage. “You better not screw this up, Ricken.”


	2. Chapter 1: Outside. To The Evening Cold. You Have To Be Kidding Me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bless your soul if you have the time to leave a comment. I will greatly appreciate it!
> 
> Follow my socials. Talk to me. I know you do.  
> Tumblr - TheGalaxianPersona  
> Twitter - ConduitGalaxy  
> Instagram - john.the.conduit

“So you’re saying that… you use most of your fire magic to light up the dark when you were 8?” asked Lissa, taking a sip of the Plegian Lemonade the mess hall crew imported in. She noted that it was oddly bitter than Ylissian lemonade.

 

“Well… I guess that is how you put it. That is when I started taking magic as what it is right now.” Ricken shifted on his seat as he was talking to his crush.

 

It was no secret amongst the Shepherds that Ricken has this sort of attraction to Chrom’s young sibling, Lissa. Oddly enough, Chrom was the last to know of Ricken’s fondness of his sister. Lissa is just as oblivious as her brother was. No matter how many knew of Ricken’s crush on Lissa, she still does not know that he has a crush on her..

 

Call it luck. Call it Naga’s blessing or curse. Either way, Ricken is still nervous.

And it was quite a feat that he still maintained his cool.

 

“I know it’s weird how I got into magic… but it’s better to be honest than just some dumb excuse.” He sighed.

 

Ricken was not proud of how he got into magic, but he was honest to death about his so called origin story. Not even the sweet and bitter taste of lemon would cleanse it. Ricken tried as he took a mouthful of Plegian Lemonade

 

_ Gods this is strong... _

 

Lissa leaned forward to Ricken, “Well you can call it weird, but I found your reason to be cute, and it is cuter than mine, even.” 

 

Flustered from the compliment, he raised an eyebrow in wonder, “How can you say that? Your reason of being a cleric must be better than mine.” Ricken chuckled and played along with her conversation.

 

“You wanna hear my reason?” she smiled, “I got into healing because I always trip like an energetic klutz!”

 

“Well… you were young so it’s understandable–”

 

“Oh no, Ricken. You ought to know that I was too crazy as a kid. Even Chrom would admit that I’ve gotten hurt more than him and Emm combined!”

 

“Well I find it… adorable to say the least–”

 

“I fell off from a tree and scraped my knee against a bark. I had to rush to my bedroom to hide from anyone and grab my staff from there. What else could I be but cute?”

 

Ricken laughed at the thought of young Lissa falling off a tree and proceeded  to tease her, “Then you were adorable, Lissa.”

 

She sighed and asked, “You’re really denying it, aren’t you?” Only to receive a smirk from Ricken.

 

“It’s adorable.”

 

Ricken laughed and felt lightheaded. He wondered if it was the drink, or how he was talking to her, but he didn’t care about it now. A time like this was something Ricken wanted to savor. A chance of this happening again was uncertain for him. The fear of screwing up was gone, and being himself was something Ricken wanted to do with Lissa. Darn. Talking to each other was not much of the forte between the two of them, but that has changed at this evening.

 

Laughing out loud and feeling odd with a boy was something Lissa almost never experienced. Sure, the rest of the boys within their ragtag group of young Shepherds were close friends of hers, but Ricken had that special vibe that no one could compare. She was fond of a lot of boys that she met throughout her lifetime, yet how Ricken made her feel was something those boys could not even meet. Almost as if Lissa felt she had found company that she can be alone with. Someone who she can be alone together, and that is saying a lot.

 

Ricken wished the evening could last.

 

Lissa wished he could stay for a long time.   
  
Little do they know that their wishes have come true.

 

The evening proceeded with them, chatting whatever it is that comes to mind. Their family. Their ambitions. Their hobbies...

 

It really did last a long time.   
  
Well… To an extent.

  
  


Above the two young Shepherds, the evening candle that lit the very quarters drip its wax from the candle holder, and the scalding hot wax dropped to Ricken’s free hand, causing him to hiss and jerk his hand away in a sudden sting.

 

“Ricken?! You scared me! What’s wrong?” Lissa jumped from the shock Ricken let out.

 

“It’s nothing… It’s just wax… that’s all.”

 

She sighed as her heightened nerves collapsed her energy twice than before. The sense of relief mixed in with the building up drowsiness had an effect on her, and she was becoming sleepy as they have continued talking.

 

~~~

 

Time passed on like it was a mere leaf across the breeze, and the two started to feel the crash and exhaustion toiling down on their system. Certainly, they kept talking even when they were about to hit the table asleep. The candle was down at its last segment, and Ricken was about to finish his sentence.

 

“I was like… You should talk to her, Donnel. There’s no harm in talking, right?” said Ricken, gesturing like he knows what he was talking about.

 

Lissa yawned, “I guess…” And she slowly lost the consciousness to even open her eyes.

 

The yawning was contagious to Ricken as the sense of tiredness passed on to him. Sleeping in the barracks is not a good idea, Ricken thought; not because it felt uncomfortable or anything of that regard and neither was the idea of anyone seeing them together sleeping at the barracks and spreading gossip around. Neither of those two ideas come into Ricken’s mind.

 

_ Besides _ , Ricken thought,  _ Lissa would kill her own back if she slept here. _

 

“Hey…” The pulsing ache in his head made him hissed slightly. He pushed himself off his seat to tend to the half-asleep Lissa, who is still holding an empty glass that has been empty for a while now. “Come on… We gotta get outta here.” He grabbed her glass, placed it away, and nudged Lissa to bring her eyes open, and a sharp breath of air was all Lissa took to keep herself awake.

 

“What… What’s going on…” She slurred her speech from her short nap.

 

“We gotta get out of here… Wouldn’t want to just pass out in a middle of the barracks, right?...”

 

Lissa groaned in annoyance. Ricken being right… She never knew it could be this annoying when she wanted him to be wrong. “Fine… Help me up, please?”

 

Ricken held Lissa steady as she stood up from a sugar crashed state. Balance is what she lacked on her sugar-induced body as a side effect; she wouldn’t know how she’d get up if Ricken did not stay. Naga bless her. It seemed to Lissa that she was lucky on this very evening.

 

“Easy there, Lissa.” Ricken loosened his grip on her as her balance came back to her slowly. “I’ll accompany you to your room, if that’s okay.”

 

She scoffed, “Oh please, Ricken. Knowing the castle halls, you should know that it’s like somewhere… High and far from this side of the castle…” Her hands made gestures of illustrating the castle as a map, pointing to where they are and to her room somewhere far from the side of the castle wing where they are now. Ricken could laugh at the instance where she would be a bad cartographer.

 

He laughed softly and beamed a small smile. “As long as you get there safely, Lissa, I wouldn’t mind.” Lissa walked with him to the door, and Ricken opened the door. The room got colder with the cold breeze entering, and both of them felt their senses tense as the cold got to their nerves.

 

“Tsk… Keep this up and you will be like Frederick.” She complimented; stepping out of the barracks.

 

Closing the door, He replied, “Well maybe I’d like to be Frederick. Just wait for me to get a little bit taller.”

 

Lissa snickered as the short mage aspired to grow taller for her. “I like to see you try.”

 

A growl came up as Lissa talked back, and Ricken sighed. She raised her brow and looked at him with a questionable and concerned look, “You didn’t eat any dinner?”

 

Ricken sighed, “Just a little… I felt a little chubbier, and I kinda got scared on growing wider than taller…”

 

She hummed while she thought of something for Ricken’s hunger. “Hmm… The kitchen is around… And to tell you honestly, I’ve been feeling hungry as well.”

 

Ricken couldn’t process the sentence properly, however. His mind partially wondered while looking at her being shone underneath the moonlight  _ and Ricken gods i swear if she catches you doing this you might as well call this night quits- ah! Cold! _

 

The breeze passed by, and their senses were wide awake than before. This shook Ricken out of his gazing senses, looked away from Lissa and to the skies above them

 

The cold breeze and the silent melody of the grasshoppers noted the two that the evening was at its peak. The half of the moon shone above the sky, and the stars were painted dots against the black night canvas. Obviously, Ricken was admiring the view as a way to distract himself from her, but he does admit that the sight was quite beautiful.

 

But even he can’t help himself taking a glance at Lissa from time to time. He looked at her eyes, now studded with the vastness of the stars that made her eyes turn into sapphires.

 

_ Beautiful blue sapphires. _

 

“Hey, Ricken?” Lissa asked, making Ricken’s amber eyes blink twice out of a trance.

 

The young mage, then, realized those sapphires have been looking at him all along. “Y-yeah?” stuttered Ricken.

 

“What are you looking at?” She raised her brow in curiousity.

 

“Well…" Ricken cleared his throat to compose himself, "I was just waiting for you to finish… looking at the sky, that’s all. The stars must have been quite a view that you just stood there, amazed.” 

 

Her blue eyes blinked twice from Ricken’s answer and gazed upon the evening span, “Oh yeah. I guess I was…” She breathed. Almost forgetting that she was entirely tired or hungry.

 

Ricken coughed as his breathing hitched silently, and Lissa broke her gaze to the evening sight to check on him.

 

“You alright?” She asked.

 

“Yeah…” Ricken breathed and cleared his throat. “Just… dry on the throat right now.”

 

A sigh of relief escaped her lips, “Good… We should get going to the kitchen if we want to get the snacks.”

 

Ricken nodded, “Indeed. The food isn’t going to come by itself.”

 

“Kinda wish it does.”

 

“Trust me. You don’t want to.”

 

~~End of Chapter 1~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr - TheGalaxianPersona  
> Twitter - ConduitGalaxy  
> Instagram - john.the.conduit


	3. Chapter 2: The [Nope. Not The Chocolate] Fountain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fountain by the garden and a sugar driven girl is a bad combination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fountain Shenanigans.
> 
> And Social Instagrams.
> 
> Tumblr - TheGalaxianPersona  
> Twitter - ConduitGalaxy  
> Instagram - john.the.conduit

~~Chapter 2~~

 

The royal halls. Lit only by the candles and the evening moon. The silence of the halls was eerie at most, and the guards at watch were waiting for their shift to be done. One of them even wore their helmet down to hide the fact that they were sleeping, and they used their spear as a way to look like they were standing tall.

 

However, the slumbering guard snorted out of his sleep as Ricken and Lissa passed through, talking silently to each other.

 

The silence was not stirred heavily, but it was enough to hear the noise within their proximity. With the occasional burst of sound from either of them.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay or something?” She asked as she chewed on a sweetbread that was served during dinner.

 

Ricken sighed in frustration with a biscuit on his fingers, “Don’t tell me that, in an empty kitchen, you could not hear something.” He chewed off a bit as Lissa responded.

 

As she swallowed the bit of sweet bread, she replied, “All I heard was your feet struggling on the stool as you got the box of biscuits on the top shelf.”

 

Ricken felt a little ticked when she mentioned of his short stature having a problem with reaching the top shelf. “I told you. There was something over there. I am sure of it!”

 

Lissa winced as Ricken spoke loudly. “Shush… The halls are echoey, and my head still rings from that buzz…”

 

Both of them approached the double doors that lead to the castle gardens. The wind woke their senses when Ricken opened the doors. The halls that surrounded the garden were open, and the echo was no longer an issue.

 

What still remained an issue was the fact that Lissa kept eating the sweetbread when she wanted to cure her sugar crash.

 

And the buzz of energy built up in her yet again.

 

He sighed, “Well sweet bread is not going to cut the buzz off, is it?”

 

A pout formed at her lips as she looked away from him and to the garden. “At least it tastes better than those plain crackers…”

 

Slightly annoyed from her antics, Ricken pinched the bridge of his nose.“Lissa, taste won’t matter if you are looking to tone down the sugar crash….”

 

Lissa walked ahead of Ricken and headed towards the garden. He sighed as he assumed she wanted to rest and enjoy the evening sight of the garden and went along with her.

 

She kept whining regardless of Ricken’s answers and sat down at the stone seat as she finished up her sweet bread . “But still…. Water? Why can’t you get something better than water?”

 

He chuckled.  _ Why on earth am I even arguing with the girl I like while she is going crazy with a lot of sugar in her system?  _ “Look, Lissa. I believe it is better to teach you all of this sometime. It’s getting late, and we might wake someone up.”

 

Lissa pouted as Ricken had a lighthearted stern tone of his. “I don’t careeee. I wanna know now….”

 

“Lissa-”

 

“Now….!”

 

Ricken went closer to her to try and calm her down.  _ This is getting out of hand... _

 

“Lissa, please! I-.”

 

Standing up from the stone seat, Lissa glared at him, hoping to intimidate him as much as possible. “As princess of the halidom and as Chrom’s sister, I command you to teach me!”

 

“Or else what?” asked Ricken, playing along with Lissa’s sugar driven antics.  _ Perhaps I shouldn’t fight it. _

 

“Or… or else…” Lissa stuttered. She had never thought this through, if she would be completely honest. Her stern composure weakened to a vulnerable  _ delicate  _ girl. To Ricken, it almost looked like she was about to cry.

 

He sighed.  _ It seemed that sugar driven minds tend to be… emotional _ , he thought. Ricken approached her slowly and spoke with concern, “... Lissa?”

 

She snapped to a grin. Her eyebrows furrowed back to try and intimidate Ricken and make herself look like a mastermind of tricks. “Or else I’ll play around the fountain!”

 

“You’re kidding me, right?” Ricken snickered.  _ Oh she’s cute when she tries to take lead... _

 

“Oh! I am not, good sir! In fact…” Lissa smirked as she proceeded to take off her boots by the fountain. Once they were off, she kicked them off to Ricken’s face, but only to hit him by the chest.

 

“Ah! Lissa!”

 

She got on to the edge of the fountain and traced her footsteps at its edge. “See, Ricken? Who’s kidding now?”

 

Ricken made a big mistake doubting her. “Lissa! Okay! I’ll teach you, just… Stop goofing around.”

 

“Aww…” She looked down at the auburn boy, whose eyes stared at her with worry. She continued, “I rather prefer it this way. This is fun!” Lissa twirled around. Her dress flowed along with her, and Ricken couldn’t either think of whether should he be putting her down or admiring her quirky, beautiful nature-  _ Ricken! Get a hold of yourself here! _

 

She danced around the edge of the fountain, and Ricken followed suit. Hums of Ylissean melodies came out from Lissa’s lips as she twirled around, dancing like she was on a ball.

 

Well… A very narrow ball.

 

Ricken held her hand once he caught up to her, and Lissa yelped at the sudden stop of her dancing momentum.

 

“Excuse me, Ricken?!” She exclaimed. “Unhand me this instant!”

 

“Get yourself down there, Lissa! I don’t want you to fall because of me!” Ricken did not care anymore if anyone heard them in a time like this.

 

She looked down at Ricken and at his gloved hand that held her bare hand. “Aww… How sweet and noble of you, Ricken.” Lissa’s eyes looked at him, and she giggled upon his worried look. “You know… If I was taller, I’d admire how small and adorable you look like all the time…”

 

Words like what Lissa said flustered the young wizard. He expected words like,  _ small, adorable, cute  _ would infuriate him, but at this very rare instance, it did not. He knew that his innate self never wanted to be complimented as such, but from Lissa? Sure, he was annoyed, but perhaps she meant well.

 

Or she’s just overrun with sugar that she starts saying things with abandon. Ricken couldn’t tell anyway.

 

He held her and tried to pull her down, but Lissa fought back and wanted to stay on the fountain. Ricken sternly commanded, “Get down from there!”

 

“Never!” She yanked her arm with enough force to get away from Ricken’s grip, but it was too much that she felt her balance overthrown. Her hands were flailing to regain her balance, but with no avail.

 

“Ricken!” She fell down to the shallow fountain water with a scream.

 

“Lissa!”

 

A small splash of water hit Ricken at his shirt. He sighed as he looked at the princess of the halidom swimming about in the fountain water. Ricken knew he had to cover her up and dry her up from her shenanigans, so he prepared for it by taking off his cape.  _ Thank goodness mages wear capes. _ He thought

 

Her dress was drenched to say the least, and Lissa giggled and laughed, leaving Ricken confused. She kicked around the water, splashing it as she breathed for air from laughing. “I can’t believe this evening, Ricken…” She said as she sat up on the basin of the fountain and leaned to the colon of it.

 

Holding his cape, Ricken coughed, “Uh… Excuse me?”

 

“Nothing… Just… Can you lend me a hand here?” Her hand extended, gesturing to Ricken that she wanted to get out of the fountain.

 

~~End of Chapter 2~~


	4. Chapter 3: Ricken's Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lissa's room was too far away, and the cold winds pierce Lissa's nerves to the core. It's about time that Ricken better do the gentlemanly move and take her to his room. Just for her to sleep for the night! Don't get any wisecracks! This is a teen rated fanfic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooooooo boy... I have kept things in the T rating spectrum, haven't I?
> 
> Thanks to TRCelyne for describing the clothing of Lissa! I'm helpless when it comes to clothing so she was a big help on which clothing article is which on Lissa's complicated outfit.

~Chapter 3~

 

Ricken will admit. Every guy would fall for a petite figure like Lissa, but not all of them would have a chance to hold her close like what he is doing right now.

 

He did not know how did it happen so quick, but when the cold winds blew around the castle halls, he knew he had to do something than cover her with his cape.

 

“Ricken.” She said, trembling inside his cape.

 

“Hm…?”

 

“I’m cold…”

 

That is how Ricken managed to hold her close. Granted, this is one of RIcken’s wishes, but he wondered if there could be another instance where he can hug her with her being dry. It’s not that he’s complaining that he has to hug her while she was shivering at his arms, but he did not want to… hold her with ungloved hands at her waist. Not to mention that her dress held her curves, and Ricken never dared to look at her below the eyes. And it was cold. And wet.

 

_ Well Lissa wanted to feel warm tonight… It was best for me to take off my gloves, anyway. _

 

They kept walking all the way to Lissa’s room. Ricken insisted that he would take her there since Lissa needed to sleep somewhere comfy and warm; not to mention her wet clothes. However, she shuddered even more as the winds kept coming that it reached to the point where she buried her face to his chest; not minding the effect it has on Ricken, who is now a flustering mess.

They were quiet. Not even a single word spoken when Ricken pulled her out of the fountain and covered her with his cape. With his arms exposed to the wind, he gritted his senses to withstand it and kept his arms around Lissa, knowing she would take it worse with her being drenched.

 

It was then that Lissa spoke, “Ricken…”

 

“Hm…?”

 

“I think my room is a bit too far… Don’t you think?”

 

Ricken hummed as he pictured what Lissa meant. She was certainly correct that her room was at the opposite wing. He nodded, “Yeah… I suppose you’re right.”

 

It was then he decided to take their path to somewhere else. Wrapping Lissa by his embrace, Ricken took a different turn, and she asked, “Where to…?”

 

“My room…”

 

~~~~~

 

Ricken felt like his mind was behind reality’s pace since the thoughts of why bringing in Lissa to his room was a bad idea came in just the moment Lissa took a stretch at the middle of the room while he lit the candles with a flaming finger.

 

If Lissa weren’t here, then he’d hit his head at the nearest wall to reprimand his idiotic pace of his thoughts. Or even slap himself with a flaming palm.

 

_ It’s not like gossip or anything will ruin her or her reputation… Gods, maybe I should try talk to the other girls while she’s asleep. Maybe they can bring her in, but then again, they might be asleep as well- _

 

“Hey Ricken?” She tapped his shoulder from behind, snapping out his train of thought into pieces.

 

“Yeah?” Ricken turned around to see Lissa who had her corset and apron off.

 

“I know this seems awkward but… Could you help me with… this?” Her hands gestured to her dress.

 

“Oh. Uhm… Sure.” He looked at Lissa’s clothes and wondered how to take it off. Uncertain on what to do, he asked, “Lissa, I’m not sure where to start.”

 

“Loosen up the dress. The knots and clamps are behind me.”

 

His mind breathed  to maintain his composure as he went to work on undressing her. His fingers were gladly ungloved as he worked on the knots with ease, with a little bit of struggle on the clamps. Even if the clamps were tough to remove, he can still say that even if the material of her dress was strong, it also felt soft. Really soft. The yellow dress was finally loose and Lissa was prompted by Ricken to raise her hands as he slowly lifted the wet garment over her head. He had no time to joke around, but he did take a subtle glance. Not that he would never reprimand himself about it. He darted his eyes away as soon as Lissa was free from the dress. He took the dress from her and hung it neatly on his chair.  _ Hopefully it would drip out through the rest of the evening, _ he thought.

 

He turned back, knowing he still have the crinoline to take care of.

 

“Where do I…” Ricken muttered.

 

Lissa giggled as Ricken’s hands were guided by hers. “Unfasten it, and lift it up above my head.”

 

“Isn’t it better to just worm your way out downwards?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Well… I may not be delicate, but my outfits are prim and proper. I rather let my outfit be taken off slowly and properly.” said Lissa.

 

Ricken blinked as he unfastened the crinoline. “You sound a lot like Maribelle.”

 

“Huh… Maybe I do. I guess it doesn’t come often.” She realized as her arms were already up to ler Ricken slip the crinoline upwards.

 

Finally, once she was free of the birdcage around her waist, Lissa’s blouse and pants were in Ricken’s view, and it was a rare sight for him to behold as she was illuminated with candles and the moonlight.

 

_ Oh my…  _ He thought as he placed the crinoline aside by his desk.  _ All white. Her blouse… pants… almost as if she came from the moon. _

 

She stood there in front of his bed, untying her ponytails to let her hair down, and Ricken stood by his desk as he looked at her without her ponytails  _ for the first time.  _ And Ricken wouldn’t be lying if he said he prefered her hair down. He was fortunate that Lissa was looking away, or otherwise he’d look like a creep to her.

 

When she turned around, he looked down to avert his eyes.  _ Wouldn’t want to be creepy now, would we? _ Ricken thought.

 

Taking off the last hair tie, she broke the silence, “Hey… Ricken. You don’t suppose you could use your fire magic to heat up the room, do you?”

 

Looking back up, Ricken shrugged,”Sorry. I haven’t practiced it, so it’d be risky.”

 

Lissa looked at him with a raised brow, “How so?”

 

“Would you like to be roasted alive?” He smirked.

 

“As long as the cold is gone, then sure.”

 

A soft snort came up as the sarcasm echoed across his ears. “You really are that cold.”

 

“Well I’m freezing, honestly. I may not sound like it, but deep down, my skin is stinging with cold.” Her arms crossed across her chest.

 

“Most of my fire spells are combat based, and even if you were to use my simple finger lighter spell, it wouldn’t be enough for the entire evening.”

 

She nodded, “I see… Do you got any extra clothes?”

 

Ricken blinked. “Uhm… Oh. Hold on.” He walked to his drawer and handed over a shirt, a pair of shorts, and a spare cape.

 

“What is this? Want me to dress up like you?”

 

“Well no. This is just usually my indoor clothes when I’m just here all by myself. I added in the cape just for you to cocoon yourself, and with the blanket, that adds in more insulation to keep the heat in-”

 

“Whoa whoa whoa, Ricken. Slow down.” She held his shoulders with drenched gloved hands. She pulled back her hands in a quick, “Oh darn I’m sorry. I forgot I have gloves on me.”

 

He placed his clothes away on his bed and reached for her gloves. “Ah it’s okay. I got it.”

 

“Ricken you don’t-”

 

With no intent of stopping, Ricken gently grabbed her hand and proceeded to remove her glove. Lissa was about to complain, but she kept it tucked in. The sensation of her hands being free from a wet cloth was satisfying.  _ And not to mention, Ricken is such a gentleman… _ she added the thought.

 

After her gloves were removed, Ricken placed them aside on the chair by his desk along with the corset and her apron.

 

“Really keeping up that Frederick attitude, huh?” Her smile warmed Ricken to the core.

 

He crossed his arms and smirked, “Seeing how he babysits Chrom 24/7, I wouldn’t go overboard.”

 

Her hand grabbed the fresh shirt on the bed, “And the Miriel talk? Yikes, Ricken. You are becoming the smallest adult ever.”

 

“Don’t tell the crew yet.” A chuckle escaped his lips, “I’m still as young as you guys.”

 

“Don’t count on it.” said Lissa. “Thanks, by the way.”

 

“No problem. Glad to help you around,” Ricken’s lips made a small smile. “Are you going to change now? I can wait outside if you wish.”

 

Lissa paused as he looked at the flustering boy in front of her. She smiled as she thought of something quite… sinister. “Can I trust you?”

 

Ricken could only blink from her question. His eyes only labelled her confused as she sighed on Ricken’s thought process.

 

She then broke his train of thought, “You can stay, but you better look away.”

 

_ Oh boy she did not.  _ Ricken felt the sweat turn into bullets.

 

“So, can I trust you?” She asked.

 

He was flustered on the thought. He couldn’t. He shouldn’t!  _ This is just something unthinkable!  _ He thought.  _ Surely I should just go outside… but if this is her way to test whether she trusts me… Well I am tempted to look, yet I have been behaving well. _ He breathed, “Sure. You can trust me.”

 

He turned around, and Lissa started undressing herself. Even debated whether or not should she even borrow his underwear but she reprimanded herself under her mumbles.

 

“You okay?” asked Ricken, lowering his hat to cover his eyes even if he was already facing away from her.

 

“Yeah. Just peachy.”

 

His ears picked up a light thud of clothing on the floor.  _ Oh Naga help me. _

 

“So Ricken…” Lissa broke the silence. She did not want to feel alone in a quiet place.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Sorry for the whole wet clothes thing… I guess sugar got the best of me.”

 

“Ah. No worries there.” Answered Ricken. “I’m just glad you did not bump your head or something. I’d go crying to Maribelle with you at my arms.”

 

Lissa sighed, putting on the shorts and readjusting its width by the string, “Yeah. I must be a lot of trouble.”

 

Perhaps it was pity or something else that made him speak, “I’m willing to handle that.”

 

Her sapphire eyes opened wide on his words. He stared at the young capeless magus who is still facing away from her.  _ Oh goodness Ricken, that is so sweet for you to say… _ She kept the words behind her tongue, but she smiled on the sweet words he smoothly said.

 

Ricken on the other hand wished his hat can chew his head.  _ WHAT WAS THAT?! I SWEAR I BETTER SHUT UP NOW OR ELSE I MIGHT SAY SOMETHING STUPID. _

 

“Hey Ricken. You can turn around now.”

 

He took off his hat and placed it on his desk. Ricken breathed as he turned around to see Lissa wearing  _ his  _ clothes. Stuttered goes his speech, “I… Sorry if it’s a little big for you.”

 

She breathed and flopped her back on his bed with a huff, “Are you kidding? I needed a break from wearing tight dresses, even if they make me look good.” Her eyelids closed as soon as possible; exhausted from the entire evening.

 

“Whatever you say.” He sighed as he sat down on his chair and stretched until every muscle in his body felt stretched, alive and relaxed.   
  
  


The bed looked tempting to Ricken. It really nagged him to lie his back on the soft mattress and let sleep come to him with no worry of strain or anything, but the boy feared that anyone would come over and find them sleeping together, and with that image alone, Lissa would be the talk around the castle, and not the good kind. With that in mind, Ricken thought that sleeping on the chair would suffice. However, it does not look like it to Lissa.

Lissa’s head propped up, eyes half-lidded from sleep, “You’re not sleeping at the bed with me?”

 

Ricken sighed, “No, Lissa. I’ll let you have the bed for yourself. Besides, we wouldn’t want a lot of people take the wrong idea now, would we?”

 

She couldn’t buy on what Ricken said.  _ Throughout the rest of the evening, _ she thought,  _ wouldn’t people get the wrong idea anyway? _ But she digressed. Her eyes were calling her to sleep, and her head was pleading her to stop.  _ His loss, anyway. His bed is so comfy... _ “Fair enough. Good night, Ricken.”

 

“Good night.”

 

And as soon as Ricken said his words, Lissa was now asleep. The light snores he could hear between intervals were notes to his mind, and it invoked two things. Flustering his cheeks, and tempting his sleep. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to skip the evening, but Ricken can’t help but think about what people would say about this. About her.

 

It was then Ricken stood up slowly and grabbed his key.  _ I better get someone to take Lissa for the night. Luckily, I know someone who might. _

 

_ ~~End of Chapter 3~~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boi. Come on. You know you wanna chat.
> 
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	5. Chapter 4 - Asking for help is not the best idea...

Groggy from her sleep and in her casual sleepwear, Cordelia leaned at the doorframe; arms crossed at her chest and eyebrows raised in question. “Wait… Do you mean Lissa is-”

 

“At my bedroom, yes…” Ricken sighed.

 

“And you want me to take her and let her sleep in my room?”

 

“I’d take Lissa to her room, but walking at the other wing at this hour… Y’know… I don’t want to burden you or anything.”

 

She sighed at the anxious boy, “You really are helpless, aren’t you?”

 

He looked down to the floor, “I… don’t want her reputation to get ruined because of me…”

 

Cordelia’s eyes blinked and held back her laughter with a snicker. “You have got to be kidding me…”

 

The young mage glared at her, “I’m serious! What if the other royal families discredit her as a-”

 

“Ricken, I have to stop you there before you mislabel your girlfriend-”

 

“Cordelia!” Ricken exclaimed.

 

“Yikes… pipe down, Ricken… It’s not even that urgent-”

 

“Her reputation is on the line, and you say that it’s not urgent?! I got her in my bedroom for naga’s sake-!”

 

The redhead sighed.  _ Is this how oblivious the two are? Guess there’s no harm telling him.  _ “Just listen. Ricken.”

 

Ricken followed, but still glared at her with heated eyes.

 

Ricken’s loud tone could have woke up Cordelia’s neighbors, and she sighed at the thought of her friends up and about asking questions tomorrow.  _ Ah… Whatever… They will be glad to hear about these two anyway.  _

 

Cordelia spoke, “Everyone knows about you two. Not the date you put yourself into, but the whole  _ ‘I like her, and I like him’  _ dilemma.”

 

His eyes widen in shock. Almost felt he was about to scream.  _ Wait… EVERYONE KNOWS?! SHE LIKES ME?! _

 

“It seems you are unaware.” The pegasus knight sighed. “Look, everyone, including the nobles around Chrom, knows about your little… crush on Lissa.” Her hands traced out the picture for him. “And Lissa has a crush on you, if I’m not mistaken. Maribelle often uses big words like Robyn and Miriel…”

 

Ricken snickered, “Well that’s Maribelle to you.”

 

“Anyway,” The woman continued, “The thing here is, everyone knows. What everyone is waiting for is either of you making a move… And knowing sugar, I guess that made you two do something- wait.” Cordelia paused and looked at him suspiciously,  “You did not do anything-.”

 

Knowing what she meant, Ricken stuttered, “What? No! Gods no! What makes you think that?”

 

“Well… She is in your room, and you have your cape off…” said Cordelia, observant on Ricken’s lack of his cape.

 

Ricken breathed and pinched his temples in irritation, “Oh my gods this is what I’m talking about…”

 

He began mumbling in fear of what backlash Lissa might face, but Cordelia spoke, “Ricken, if anything, you shouldn’t care what anyone would say.”

 

“And why is that…?”

 

“It’s that Lissa never cared about the gossip about her. Obviously, she may have a reckless abandon with her,”

 

_ Yeah, Lissa playing around the fountain is proof of that. _

 

“And she may even do the darndest things even with people around.”

 

_ Lissa putting frogs in Robyn’s neck while she was asleep as a way to welcome her into the family… Classic joke. _

 

“But that’s because it’s who she is. Light hearted, reckless, and fun. Obviously, that went over your head.”

 

“Mnff….”

 

“And she’s all of that because she never cared about what some noble is bad mouthing about her. Even if there is a noble who would try to tarnish her name with words, an axe to a brigand’s neck and a dose of healing magic on a wounded soldier is no compared to some royalty gossip.”

 

A sigh came out of Ricken’s lips, “You’re right…”

 

“But that does not excuse you to do something funny with her-”

 

“I was not planning to!” He snapped, going as far as inching closer to her to make ground.

 

The door next to Cordelia’s room swung wide open, and Sully came out with an enraged look at her face.

 

She snapped, “Hey! You two better shut it. Someone here needs to be up for the morning scout around the border, and I woke up because of you two being mindless yapping wyverns talking!”

 

The wizard looked down at his feet, “... Sorry.”

 

“Apologies, Sully.”

 

“Hmph… What are you two talking about anyway? At this time of the night?” Sully crossed her arms in stern curiosity.

 

Ricken was about to speak a lie, but Cordelia got ahead, “Oh just about lemonade and  _ ‘butterflies’ _ .” Her eye winked at Sully on the word butterflies.

 

“Wha-.” Ricken stuttered.

 

“In fact, I was about to give him some lemonade I got from dinner. Y’know, since he was kinda complaining how stiff the Plegian lemonade was.” Cordelia went inside, leaving the redhead cavalier and the auburn mage alone.

 

Sully scoffed, “Too stiff? Please. Until you tried their ale, you won’t know the real taste of stiff.”

 

“I’m not… planning to drink anyway-”

 

“What? Now that’s rich, coming from you.” She snickered. “You better at least toughen up, Ricken.” She slapped his shoulder, and he winced at the amount of force. “You ought to have some muscle in your arm and will at this rate. In fact, I’ll let you drink some. Just give me a call.”

 

He rubbed his shoulder from Sully’s friendly gesture, “I’ll keep that noted…”

 

Cordelia came back with a glass jar of Ylissian lemonade and handed it over to Ricken. “Sorry about the wait. Had to make sure the glass was clean.”

 

Sully sighed, “Ah… You and lemonade, Ricken. Just remember about my offer.” and with that, she retired to her room.

 

They both sighed as the door closed, and Ricken spoke up, handing over the glass, “I’m not even that thirsty, anyway.”

 

Cordelia’s palm pushed the drink back to him, “Just drink it. I can tell that you’re feeling nervous, so just a sip of it ought to give you a boost.”

 

The thought of a courage boost incited a sleight of hand where he felt tomorrow can’t come soon. Instead of a sip, Ricken took a gulp. No. Two. Three. The entire glass. The energy that was stressed off from being induced with sugar started running again in his system, and he felt the sugar induced adrenaline rush in to his nerves.

 

“Yikes, Ricken… I said you should go for a sip. Not the glass.”

 

Ricken snickered, “Well you said I need a boost of courage.” He took a deep breath and gave the glass to her, “I’ll be honest… I’m really scared.”

 

Cordelia chuckled on the young boy’s eagerness, “Well you better take that courage now before it’s gone.”

 

“Thanks, Cordelia.”

 

And with that, Ricken speed walked his way back to his room; the sugar buzzing inside of him finally driving him to do the unthinkable.

 

“So? Butterflies, huh?”

 

Cordelia looked at Sully who recently went back outside when Ricken left. The pegasus knight responded, “Yeah. Butterflies. The official codename between Lissa and Ricken.”

 

Sully groaned, “Should we stop the whole codenaming thing? Chrom was confused when we kept mentioning  _ Falchion _ . Robyn really caught up to speed, and she wanted us to stop with the whole gossip thing…”

 

The knight shrugged her shoulders on the cavalier’s words, “Well… You gotta have something to talk about. It’s not just about war and combat that you have to discuss, and you certainly don’t feel like talking about yourself in the most fashionable way possible like Virion.”

 

A scoffed escaped Sully’s lips, “Tell me about it…”

 

…

 

Sully looked at the pegasus knight, “Hey, Cordelia? Why did Ricken come to you, anyway?” The question prompted Cordelia to look at the cavalier.

 

Cordelia answered, “Hm? You can say that he came for my help.”

 

“Help on what?” Sully raised her eyebrow in sheer curiosity and leaned on the balcony in front of Cordelia.

 

The knight sighed, “Lissa. He got her in his bedroom.” Sully’s eyes widen in surprise.

 

“Damn that boy… Smooth moves, I gotta say…”

 

Cordelia nodded with a smile, “Ricken wanted me to let her sleep in my room because he was concerned for her reputation.”

 

“Well damn that boy would be missing something out, if you ask me.” Sully could think of a hundred jokes about Ricken’s situation.

 

Another door opened, and Cherche walked out with a sleepy look on her face. “Hey, can you two keep it down? I just woke up because of you two…”

 

The two looked at each other and gave a nod; telepathically planning on something that will last them the evening. Cordelia asked with a wink, “Cherche, would you be interested in some  _ Butterfly  _ tea?”

 

“Hm? I don’t like tea.” Said Cherche,  “I like the juice. Tell me… What’s going on with the duo?”

 

==

 

The night was still at its prime and so was his courage. When he walked through the castle halls, it looked like he could take on the world. That he can do what he wanted and no one could stop him.

 

Pity that when he entered his room, everything he felt turned into anxiety in a moment he closed the door and looked at Lissa, sleeping comfortably underneath the sheets.

 

_ Perhaps she was feeling cold while I was away...  _

 

The nightly atmosphere and the cold winds voided the room of heat. As he placed his hat on its stand, he walked over to the side of his bed; Lissa slept with an illuminated look thanks to the shine of the moon.

 

At this situation, Ricken would have tried to rationalize what is the best option to do so and that he would deny any instinct in his mind that would seem irrational or against his logical thinking. The young wizard never followed that instinct. He kept it to himself, and only relied on what seemed to be the best option based on what he knows.

 

But at this hour, and at his state of energy buzzing in his head, and the fact that Cordelia talked some sense into him, Ricken tossed aside all thinking.

 

Avoiding to wake her up suddenly, He slowly got on the bed and took off his shoes, and it felt the cold atmosphere so much that it did not take long for Ricken to feel shivering at the cold his feet were exposed to. The sheets were lifted up as Ricken held it to roll himself underneath its warm interior. His head slowly rested against the soft feel of the mattress since he only had one pillow, and Lissa was using it.

 

_ Okay, Ricken.  _ He sighed.  _ You made it this far… Now sleep… _

 

“... Ricken…” Lissa muttered in her sleep.

 

He slowly looked to the sleeping cleric by his side, closed to herself to maintain heat in the cold evening. Her back was in front of him, her skin tensed, and the goosebumps on her skin showed how cold she felt.  _ Perhaps being cocooned in two layers of cloth is not enough for LIssa _ , he thought.

 

The mage had no idea how the courage mustered within him that much, but he did not give a second thought. No. He did not give any thoughts at all as he turned to Lissa and inched closer to her.

 

“Liss…” A voice whispered through Ricken’s teeth. His breath tickled the back of her neck, and his hands slowly went around her, who is still cocooned with his cape.

 

“...mm… Ricken…?” She mumbled and placed her hand on Ricken’s.

 

The buzz of courage started to wane, but he persisted he kept his hands in place and stopped moving closer for comfort. The pulse in his body got faster. His mind started regretting sleeping beside her, but his body felt too tired to even go away.

 

_ Grit yourself Ricken… Just… answer her, and sleep! Yes… just… sleep. _

 

“Shh… Lissa. Just… sleep…” Ricken wanted to inch closer to her neck.

 

“Mmm…” She settled herself, deciding not to toss herself to face him and enjoy the sleepy embrace. “You said… the chair was okay for you…”

 

“... i lied…” Ricken’s eyes droop to a close. A scent of Lissa’s perfume attuned his head to sleep. “... It’s… okay…”

 

“... no objections here…” And Lissa leaned into him, enveloping herself to a warm evening, and her heart is just as beating fast as his.

 

The spell of sleep hit the couple as the night coursed through its natural cycle. The stars started to get outshined at the approaching dawn. The sun’s distant orange hue was distinct, and yet the two would miss the opportunity to see how it is the dawn of something new.


	6. Dawn of Something Romantic. Stupid, mostly. But romantic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please appreciate my chapter titles

Ricken could not believe it. Even if he tried to blink, look at his memory at a different angle, and prayed to Naga that everything that happened last night was just a dream, he was still there. On the bed with Lissa.

 

_ Okay, Ricken… Just… Calm down…  _ He breathed in and out as he slithered away from Lissa and slipped out of the bed, trying to avoid making any sort of noise. His body was now starting to feel awake, and his head was now running with thoughts. Thousands of thoughts that should have come in his head during the evening if it weren’t for the drive of courage from the lemonade he had last night.

 

He sat on the bed and sighed, and his hands sunk at his face. The urge to yank his head out was brimming to the point where he could scream out loud, but he knew that screaming out loud could not help his current situation.

 

The warmth of the morning sun lingered, and Ricken’s flustering was making himself hotter, still. The orange hue of the sky was slowly turning blue, and the wind was fair and cool. It was a beautiful day to wake up to, but his head buried in his hands say otherwise. The entire evening… Sleeping together at the end of it all… Not to mention how she changed with him in the same room… His mind had to remind him how it’s not a beautiful day to wake up to.

 

_ I have to cover this up… I have to just… Do something and… Not let Chrom know! Yes! I mean… Argh! Darnit! Why did I mention it to Cordelia?! _

 

Ricken cursed underneath his breath that his hat was not there to consume him into a void of shameful darkness. He felt he was done for, and.all he had to find refuge from reality was his hands.

 

Little did Ricken know that the blonde was well awake when he sat up on the bed, and she rolled around and observed him, infuriated or ashamed. She couldn’t tell with only his back in view, his sighs from his mouth, and her head still shaking off the sleep. 

 

An instinct in the back of her head surfaced, and she spoke as she sat up from the bed, “Ricken…? Are you okay?”

 

His eyes opened wide upon hearing her concerned tone. He lifted his head from his hands and breathed, “... It’s nothing….”

 

Lissa sighed and scooched closer to Ricken as she let the cape fall off from her shoulders, “I can sense it from here, y’know… I can feel it’s not nothing.”

 

He felt shame come up on his chest and kept his back turned to her. He looked down, “I… Don’t know if I should tell you this, but…” Ricken stood up and faced her with shame written all over his face, “I’ll take full blame on this.”

 

Stunned, she raised her brow in question, “What?”

 

“Just… Darnit… Why am I even thinking about this again…” Ricken pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“What do you mean again…?” She finally sat up on the side of the bed.

 

The auburn mage winced. He remembered that Lissa barely cared about her reputation, yet there is still a lingering feeling of concern for it. “I… I just care too much, Lissa.” He said. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

 

“Ricken, I’m all ears… Please?”

 

He looked at her dead into the eyes and saw compassion within her pupils. It demanded Ricken’s worried heart to soften and open its worries to her, and Ricken had enough keeping it to himself. The mage was hesitant, but he sighed in defeat, “... It’s about… you sleeping in my room…, and how this can affect your reputation as a princess…”

Lissa nodded along Ricken’s explanation.

“And… I’m worried and concerned about you, okay? I always am, and this? I swear… I could have done better, but… My gut got the best of me... “

She felt strung slowly upon his words and looked at him how he was serious on the issue at hand.

Ricken continued, “And… I thought I could be over with it. Y’know… Try to enjoy the moment… But it just clicked that I… I messed up! I brought you here, which I should have not. It’s just… It’s my fault. I should have brought you at your room… Or at Cordelia’s… I was just… dumb, and I deserve whatever backlash I might face…”

Lissa stood up, her bare feet reminding her that her boots were not with her, and held his cheek gently. Ricken did not expect that Lissa would hold his cheek as such.

However, he did not expect her to pat his cheek and giggle under her breath.

“Ricken… It’s nice of you to be my personal Frederick, but…” She ruffled his hair, earning a surprise light gasp from him. “I’m sure that… I wouldn’t let that go over my head.”

“Henry once called you a klutzy cleric, and you grabbed a hatchet and chased him down across the battlefield.”

“... I did not say it’s a guarantee, Ricken…” Lissa sighed and lightly pressed her thumbs at his cheeks, “But the thing here is… I’m not going to let some bad mouthing jerk try to ruin my fun.”

The mage nodded, “...Yeah… I needed to hear that from you…”

The cleric tilted her head and snickered a smile, “Is it because of my voice?”

Ricken chuckled, “No. But it’s nice to hear it from you.”

Lissa hummed, “Maybe my words do have magic…”

“... Excuse me?”

“Oh Ricken....” She said in a monotone shaman voice and waved her hand across his face, “Go outside and make me a sandwich…”

Ricken let out a sarcastic laugh, “Haha… Very funny.”

“But really, Ricken.” Her hands slid away from his cheeks. “What do you mean when you say that you were thinking over this again?”

“Oh… That… While you were asleep… I went to Cordelia and ask if she can let you sleep in her room.”

Lissa blinked. “Uh… Cordelia? Why does she need to know, Ricken?”

Taken aback, Ricken answered, “I… I did not want you to get in trouble with your reputation, so I did. Little did I know that she convinced me to let you sleep with me.”

She sighed, “You know… I do appreciate what you wanted to do there, but you still let me sleep here, so what’s the point?”

He smiled, “The point is that… She made me think, last night. About how I’m just turning away from a chance. Of course… I was usually groggy on my mindset, but she did make a point about you that made me change my mind.”

“And that is…?”

“You never cared about what people say about you being yourself.”

Lissa let out an “Ohhh…” of realization as she finally knew why he said he thought of her reputation before. An appreciation for Ricken’s concern gave the blonde cleric’s cheeks a slight blush. She thought it through about how he was protective and concerned, and she could smile on what he wanted to do. Lissa never knew that a crush could go beyond than the usual. No. She did not want it to be a crush now. Her heart knew what she wanted, but patience took over.  _ Now is not a time to hurry. Maybe someday soon, I will get to hear the words. _

Ricken sighed in relief, “So… I think it’s about time you better go back to your room?”

 

Lissa pouted as her thoughts kept going.  _ Or maybe… I want to hear them now… Shush. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Liss. Maybe some other time...  _

She then answered, “I think it is. Wish I could have come here… In a different circumstance, anyway.” Lissa started to walk towards the door, and Ricken’s brain snapped as he realized that she was still wearing his clothes.

“Your clothes-!”

With her hand on the knob, Lissa looked at him and gave a carefree smile, “I’ll send over someone to pick them up. Besides, you’ve done enough for me, Ricken. And… thank you. Really. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

Ricken bit his lip, then burst out a yell as she opened the door. “But Lissa!”

“What, Ricken?”

“I got… Something to say-”

The blonde cleric then left the auburn mage to himself. The soft sound of the door closing echoed, and the beating heart couldn’t stop barging his ears on what he should have said.

Ricken was feeling hot at this morning, so he took off his robes as he paced around the room in anxiousness, leaving him with a sando and a pair of shorts. The feeling of uncertainty still loomed in the mage’s head as rational thought fought against his instinct. The dangers of conflicting ideas were one of the many things that Ricken was doing, and it was yanking his strands of hair in frustration, walking back and forth in circles, and thinking intensively while circling his temples.

_ No… Now is not the time… Gods… Who could ever think that waking up next to your crush on one morning and then suddenly tell them, “I like you!” after going through a sugar-filled evening was a good idea? If I were to say it as such… No… Darnit! She should know, at least!... _

Then he just remembered that she was barefooted when she got out, and knowing that, He finally had an extra reason to run after her.

_ What am I doing?! _

After wincing and gritting his teeth to an insurmountable amount, The mage felt the courageous instinct to go after her.

After grabbing an extra pair of sandals, Ricken went outside and His heart pounded louder and screamed every ounce of its pumps.  _ Go after her, darnit!  _ It said. Ricken winced and gritted his teeth as the thought of rejection hit him as he kept sprinting.

 

_ No!  _ Ricken thought.  _ That’s not stopping me anymore…! _

 

After turning left to another hallway, The young mage saw Lissa walking away with her boots in hand. The path that she took let her go by the gardens with the fountain at its center, and she was fortunate enough to cross by to get her boots.

Ricken, however, was not fortunate enough that his thoughts had to drop him at this moment. He paused as he eyed on the girl walking away. The heart in his chest demanded him to speak. Even just a mutter would do, it pleaded.

“... Lissa.”

She stopped. Her sense of the world shook to a surprise; she didn’t expect him to come by. Her lips pursed to an anxious close as she assumed what he wanted to say. A soft sigh escaped her lips. She should’ve seen this one coming.

He spoke up, moving closer to her, “Lissa, I… I know this is a bad time, but…”

Her mind raced, and she was glad that it did,  _ No Ricken… I need time. So do you. _

“Then, please, say it later at the gardens, Ricken. It’s better if we just… Orient ourselves for a while. I don’t want you to rush things, and you are doing just that.”

Ricken breathed deeply as he cursed himself on his persistence, but he stopped. It was all in the matter of when.

“... what time?” He asked as he pursed his lips.

She smiled as her eyes noted the amount of dedication Ricken had in his heart to run all the way. Lissa hummed, “Let’s say… Around 11? I am certain we can talk then.”

Ricken slightly smiled, “Alright. It’s settled, then. But before that… Why not wear your boots?”

Lissa’s nerves finally attuned to her as Ricken pointed out that she was barefoot all along while holding her boots by her hand. “Oh… I guess I didn’t pay attention.”

“Well… May I? I got my own sandals as well.” The young mage held out his extra pair.

Before Lissa could object, Ricken managed to plop the pair down and told her to let her foot in his sandal. Breathing in her objections, Lissa let her foot go by his hands, and he slipped in the sandal. She swore that she could kick his face if he dared tickle her, but thankfully, he didn’t. After slipping in to his sandals, she stretched her toes to see if it were a snug fit. And, not surprising Lissa, the sandals fit nicely.

“Huh… A perfect fit.” She remarked.

Ricken dusted off his hands, “Well… They are small.”

“So does that mean…” She snickered, “Like your height… Your feet are small-”

He got to speed on what Lissa meant, so he waved his hand, “Yeah yeah… I’m the small guy around… Just go ahead and freshen up.”

Beams of sunshine peeked through her smile, “Sure, Ricken. See you later?”

“Yeah. Later…”

The tone from Ricken signaled to Lissa that he sounded disappointed, so as he was about to walk away, Lissa tapped his shoulder to make him turn around.

“Ricken?” Her voice called for his attention.

“Yeah?”

A small kiss on the cheek was enough to make the summer heat feel like it was just merely room temperature.

She started to skip away with a smile on her lips, “Thanks, again.”

Ricken could not even mutter a word in a flustered heat at his cheeks. 

“...I…”

**Author's Note:**

> As I said. Multi-chapter. Wouldn't wanna just make you all read under one sitting. I gotta tease you for a bit, and that's not much of a bad thing, is it?
> 
> Follow my socials. Talk to me. I know you do.  
> Tumblr - TheGalaxianPersona  
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> Instagram - john.the.conduit


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